Did He Sleep Wrong?

[Guest dragontearz]

Oberon has been been a learning experience. When we got up this morning up until now, whenever he goes to roll over or turn his neck or even try to raise his head to look at us if we are standing over him, he has given a yelp...I thought it might have been a whiney part of his personality starting to show, but he has been doing it while he has been sleeping....

 

He hasn't hurt himself running in the yard or anything yet, and when he went to bed last night he was fine...it's in his neck it seems, is it possible he slept weird and tweeked something? He is still eating well and chased me in the yard when I came home from school today, just seem to be keeping his head down and isn't as bouncy...seeing how awkward the positions they seem to sleep in I'd be surprised, but still...

Edited March 26, 2011 by dragontearz

[Guest sweetpea]

I had the same symptom with Sweetpea.

 

Vet prescribed prednizone for inflamation, and limited activity (no jumping up on furniture, no running,

using a harness if the dog is a leash-puller).

 

Pred helped the pain, but the side-effects were disastrous.

 

What worked for us was limiting activity (for a lot longer than you might expect) and gentle massage

of the neck and shoulder area every morning and every night. She's fine now.

 

Good luck,

Buzzy

amateur masseuse

 

Edited to add, I don't think it would have gotten better without the anti-inflammatory, you might want to

visit your vet.

Edited March 26, 2011 by sweetpea

[tbhounds]

Sounds like an ouchie neck or back-- really common with our ex-racing hounds. Harness only, limit excerise and vet visit for meds (either steroids or NSAIDs and +/- tramadol).

[PrairieProf]

Beth had a muscular thing with her neck once, and in addition to using a harness for a few weeks and Deramaxx as an anti-inflammatory, the vet showed me how to massage it, and we did a series of acupuncture sessions. It got better and has never so far recurred as an issue.

Edited March 26, 2011 by PrairieProf

[Guest dragontearz]

I've been massaging his neck and shoulders, and when we talked about it when we just went for a walk around the block with him, we realized that he did pull VERY hard on the leash last night when he saw a squirrel, and it just occurred to me that when leaving the crate open so he can come and go freely on his own, I had not taken his collar off! For all I know, the tags got caught in the bars and he could have yanked on it hard enough to do something to his neck.

 

I'm getting a harness first thing tomorrow morning, and a visit to the vet is going to be made for Monday. Thanks for the help everyone

 

What scares me are the side effect issues-what were they, and what about them was that bad sweetpea? I'm just worried, yesterday he was fine, today he whine/yelps whenever he moves his neck sometimes. I'm just not sure if I should be freaking out or not.

Edited March 26, 2011 by dragontearz

[PrairieProf]

I really doubt prednisone would be prescribed as a first-line drug. Much more likely a simple anti-inflammatory/painkiller.

[KF_in_Georgia]

How old is Oberon? I've just been through this with Sam (nearly 11) in the past week. See here. Sam's feeling much better. Best wishes to Oberon...

 

Meanwhile, see if Oberon sleeps better if he doesn't lie flat on his side, so that getting up is easier. Maybe give him a pillow he can halfway lie on or roll one side of his bed underneath itself so that it's like having a bolster pillow he can prop against.

[Guest dragontearz]

He has a couple pillows that act as bolsters for him from day one since we've had him, and he will be 6 in July. It just seems weird, not one thing was wrong yesterday with him, but today is a different story-I've slept wrong myself before, and had my neck sore and hurting for a few days and then I was good-his tail is still wagging, he's eating all his food and biscuits, etc..it doesn't seem to matter if he sleep on his side or not, the last two times he got up and whine/yelped quietly was when he was laying in a sitting position to begin with. We just went on a walk and he was sniffing everything, walking at a good pace like usual, and was acting like nothing was wrong...I just want him healthy, I kind of need a breather between health issues especially after losing Guinness.

Edited March 26, 2011 by dragontearz

[Guest dragontearz]

How old is Oberon? I've just been through this with Sam (nearly 11) in the past week. See here. Sam's feeling much better. Best wishes to Oberon...

 

Meanwhile, see if Oberon sleeps better if he doesn't lie flat on his side, so that getting up is easier. Maybe give him a pillow he can halfway lie on or roll one side of his bed underneath itself so that it's like having a bolster pillow he can prop against.

 

I read your posts about Sam, and it sounds exactly like how Oberon is acting today almost word for word. I can't get him in until Monday at the earliest, but we have a fenced yard so leaving him off leash and harness to leave his neck alone for a while is easily done. He's such a mellow guy that him yelping out in little GSOD's is letting us know something is bothering him. I mean, at the meet and greet yesterday at the no kill conference hundreds of people were walking over and around him and occasionally bopping him in the face with tote bags full of freebies and he never blinked.

[KF_in_Georgia]

It just seems weird, not one thing was wrong yesterday with him, but today is a different story-I've slept wrong myself before, and had my neck sore and hurting for a few days and then I was good-his tail is still wagging, he's eating all his food and biscuits, etc..it doesn't seem to matter if he sleep on his side or not, the last two times he got up and whine/yelped quietly was when he was laying in a sitting position to begin with.

 

Sam was fine on walks, fine doing a "down" (Sphinx) position. Appetite good--willing to eat anything that didn't eat him first, although not comfortable stretching to pick up a treat from the floor. He could jump off my bed with no problem, but jumping onto it brought a yelp. And he got on my bed and settled down that Thursday; he just started yelping about moving later in the evening--and he certainly had done nothing to hurt himself in that interval.

 

And it took a while to pin down a few things with Sam: that it was worse if he was lying flat on his side, that it seemed painful no matter which side he slept on. That it seemed to be more back-related than neck-related (the vet could lure Sam into turning his head over either shoulder to reach a treat). He actually had a place on his spine that felt warmer than anyplace else on his back when I felt him that first night; when two vets examined him independently, they each zeroed in on the exact place he had felt warm to me the night before.

 

If your vet thinks it's muscle pain or arthritis, you might want to try a muscle relaxer like Methocarbamol rather than a pain-reliever like Tramadol. And, either way, probably an anti-inflammatory med like Rimadyl or Deramaxx.

 

Sam is blissfully snoring away--flat on his side on my bed. No yelps, no yells of pain, since seeing the chiropractor two days ago. (And he's not taking any meds for this--hasn't had any for several days.)

[KF_in_Georgia]

I don't know about your area, but canine chiropractors are thin on the ground here in north Georgia. If you need to find one and your vet can't help (mine didn't know of one), ask people in your area who do agility (with greyhounds or with other breeds). A local agility trainer referred me to, apparently, the only canine chiropractor within 100 miles of Atlanta. Another option would be to call the nearest vet school. Our "local" chiropractor is closer to Athens (and UGA's vet school) than she is to Atlanta.

[maximum]

I will second the recommendation for a canine chiro. A few years ago, I came home from work and Max was hurting. It seemed like he could not lift his head beyond level with his shoulders, and was moving very gingerly and stiffly. We took him immediatel to our vet, who also had chiro training. What had happened was that the vertabrae that connects to the skull had somehow become somewhat hooked under the back of the skull - or something like that. She did an adjustment in the neck area, he gave a bit of a yelp, gave himself a shake and walked out, perfectly fine.

 

She did say that in time,he likely would have been fine, but would have needed anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxants and painkillers, to try and rectify it. Max went from being in severe pain and very limited mobility to just fine in 10 seconds...

 

edited to add that we never knew what caused this to happen. He could have indeed just slept wrong...

Edited March 27, 2011 by maximum

[Guest sweetpea]

I really doubt prednisone would be prescribed as a first-line drug. Much more likely a simple anti-inflammatory/painkiller.

 

Actually it was our first-line drug, the vets were concerned that if she needed surgery, nsaids in her system could

cause bleeding issues.

 

Sweetpea now has a note in her file "Pred as a last resort only", because of her specific reactions.

 

They are the usual side-effects with prednisone, increased water consumption, increased urination, nervousness, tremors.

But they were so extreme in Sweetpea, one day alone she peed 18 times. We live in a second story condo,

so up and down those stairs every time. And when we couldn't get to her in time she peed on wee-wee pads

in the house, but only after she held it as long as she possibly could; I felt awful for her, can you imagine?

And all that stair climbing felt like it had to be counter-productive, I mean, we were supposed to be 'limiting'

her activity!

 

I don't want to scare you off prednisone, it has it's benefits, and not all dogs will react as strongly as Sweetpea did,

but I would definitely go with a milder nsaid at first.

 

Good luck!

 

Buzzy

[3greytjoys]

Just a few comments re: collars:

If tags are attached to a Martingale "D-ring" (where a leash gets clipped on), please move tags to a side piece of hardware that won't choke the dog's neck (as easily) if the tags get caught on something.

 

For any newbie readers:

It's usually safer to have a separate ID collar (without a D-ring) for dogs to wear 24/7.

Dog's name and phone# is embroidered into the collar itself.

Reasons for separate ID Collar (without a ring):

Less chance the dog will hang him/herself from a D-ring catching on something.

Better chance for a phone number to be seen from a distance, if a loose dog can't be caught (to read a small tag).

These ID collars are available with reflective tape for better night visibility.

When multiple dogs are playing together in a fenced enclosure (even during safe muzzled play dates):

If a dog is wearing a separate ID collar, the Martingale collar can be removed for safer play.

During play, another dog can easily catch a tooth, collar, or paw on a D-ring and suffer serious injury.

 

ID Collar Tips:

Many people have their cell number on an ID collar.

(If their dog gets loose, they are usually out searching for their dog, not waiting at home by the phone.)

 

If your ID collar comes with a D-ring, please cut it off.

(It's too easy to clip a leash to the wrong ring, then have a Greyhound back out of the collar!)

 

The Martingale collar with D-ring should always be used when a Greyhound is being walked outside with a leash.

IMO: Once inside the home, a Martingale collar should be removed (for convenience, the leash can remain attached for the next walk).

Your hound will still be safe wearing his/her separate ID collar (reflective or not) 24/7.

Edited March 27, 2011 by 3greytjoys

[Guest greymama002]

Both Tina & Pulsar have had the stiff/sore neck like you are describing. Our vet prescribed antiinflammatories, massage & rest both times, and they were soon feeling much better. We used a harness from then on, and neither had any further problems. While for some dogs, this can become a chronic issue, chances are high that this could have been the result of the squirrel pulling, and once healed, Oberon will have no further problems. Thinking healing thoughts for your boy!

[GeorgeofNE]

My last dog had a similar issue, and my vet also prescribed prednisone--low dose, short course.

 

It's a miracle drug, if your dog can handle it.

 

Kramer did great with it--he was a mixed breed.

 

As he got older, his allergies (inhaled) got so bad, he took steroids frequently.